Introducing the rat pack!

Hi all,

As promised on the PT facebook page, here is the introduction page for the new and long-awaited additions!

I have been pet-less since I lost Mercy well over a year ago now, and was away from her during term time. I was previously living in a flat in central London with other vet students, and we had neither the permission nor the facilities and time to care for pets properly. With preclinical studies now over, I've moved out to a countryside house in Hertfordshire to continue with clinical education (very exciting!). Thanks to a lovely landlady, at last I have rats back in my life. And this time... there's four of them.

They're all sisters - two belong to myself and two to my flatmate - but all four are living together. Mine are called Avalon and Eden, and my housemate's are called Tango and Cash. We brought them home Saturday morning and all are settling in well. Personalities are already truly established, and we've already had the inevitable rat-lost-behind-the-sofa and overly-ambitious-climbing moments to deal with. They have had several adoring visitors from the veterinary student community already and more are lined up - they seem to have accrued an almost celebrity status! The downside of this is that they'll have to deal with lots of physical exam practice. We may enrol them as training animals in the college as handling practice for student veterinary nurses once they're grown.

We've tried not to shove a camera in their little faces too often as they've had a busy two days, but here are some pics! Hope you enjoy.

Here's all four of them together when we brought them home. First pic clockwise from top left - Cash, Tango, Eden and Avalon.

Individual shots - firstly Avalon. She's a champagne bareback and probably the quietest of the four.

Next, Eden. She's a broken capped but her dark patch may or may not be husky, so it may fade out. Time will soon tell! She's the baby-faced one and the most photogenic. She has HUGE ears, these pictures don't entirely do them justice but she's definitely channelling Mickey Mouse.

Tango - she's a husky roan and the most outgoing - definitely the boss of the group! I have to refrain from calling her Mercy as she's so like her when she was a baby.

And last but not least, this is Cash. She's also a champagne bareback and very similar to her sister Avalon, but she has a slightly shorter hood and a white blaze on her face, whereas Avalon has more of a stripe. Cash is a very friendly girl and already a renowned food thief. She's also the hardest to photograph!

That's all! I'll try to keep updating on how they're doing. Clinical work is a little less note- and lecture-heavy than I've been used to in preclinical, so I'm hoping to have a little more free time so long as I keep on top of the practical side of things. I'll try to get some videos too at some point - they're so funny when they play fight together.